Armed Forces Commissioner Bill

Fred Thomas Excerpts

2nd reading
Monday 18th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Fred Thomas (Plymouth Moor View) (Lab)]

I welcome the Bill: it is great news. I left full-time service only last year, and it is fantastic to see the pledges that I hoped the Government would fulfil being brought—I hope—into law.

I first encountered these proposals last year when we were joined by Eva Högl, the German armed forces commissioner, in the House for a panel event, only a couple of weeks after I had left full-time service and only one week after my selection as the Labour parliamentary candidate for Plymouth Moor View. It was an exciting moment, but the appointment of an Armed Forces Commissioner seemed very far away. It seemed to be something very positive that the Germans had and that we should have, but to do it would require a Labour Government, and we did not know when the election would be. All that has now come about: we have that Labour Government and we are committed to delivering an Armed Forces Commissioner, and it is great that we are doing so.

I commend the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats for the way in which they are approaching the Bill, and for the collegiate atmosphere. I know I speak for many Labour colleagues when I say that matters relating to the welfare of the armed forces and veterans are over-politicised in this country, and approaching them as one House is extremely positive. I hope that the hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell (Helen Maguire) will be encouraged by the extent to which the Labour party is holding up the German commissioner as a model. For one thing, Eva Högl is a woman, and for another, she has not served in the military. I am sure that those points will be taken into consideration when the Government make their appointment.

As the Bill makes clear, one of the commissioner’s aims will be to promote the welfare of serving personnel and their families, including, as has been mentioned, bereaved families. Another—the second of the functions listed in the Bill—is to improve

“the public’s understanding of the welfare issues faced”

by serving personnel. That is an excellent step, because it will deal with something that holds back serving people, particularly those who are drafted into a new community—anyone who has been in the military will have experienced this—where they have no roots laid down. They are at the mercy of whatever their camp or base can provide. It may be possible for them to obtain military housing in the area, but they may be on camp. Beyond that, they can play a part in local politics and local government, whether it is a parish council or a town council. It can be very challenging for serving personnel to understand and communicate with local government, and I was pleased to hear Members say that many councils have run positive schemes involving armed forces champions and their own armed forces covenants.

In Plymouth—which I represent along with the Minister for the Armed Forces, my hon. Friend the Member for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport (Luke Pollard)—we have a fantastic Plymouth City Council armed forces champion scheme. If Members do not know about it, I urge them to look at it, because I know from speaking to residents that it has had a massive effect for veterans and serving personnel. One of the questions that the Government will face in respect of the Bill is “What is the relationship between the armed forces commissioner and local government—and, as a third party, the tri-service military?” Yes, listening is important, but doing is also important. We need to understand how the commissioner can bring about solutions and outcomes for residents and, obviously, for serving personnel.

The Chair of the Defence Committee, my hon. Friend the Member for Slough (Mr Dhesi), mentioned reservists, and I know that they have been mentioned before. When we look closely at the Bill, however, we see that anyone who is subject to “service law”, or military law, will be entitled to access to the armed forces commissioner. Reservists—and, as of last year, I am a proud Royal Marines reservist—are subject to military law when they are serving, but not when they are not on duty. That needs to be clarified. To maximise reservists’ output, which I know the Ministry of Defence is keen to do, we must ensure that they feel wrapped up in the system, not just operationally and not just in training, but in that welfare sense. When will they have access to the commissioner? Will it just be on a Wednesday night when they are in their detachment, or will it be throughout the week? Obviously the answer should be “throughout the week”, and I urge the Govt to commit themselves to that.

Finally, I want to commend the Secretary of State, who has briefly left the Chamber. In the military, people are often taught about having the courage of their convictions. Having an armed forces commissioner who will report to Parliament annually will not be easy for the Secretary of State, because the commissioner is unlikely to report solely good findings every year; in fact, quite the opposite. He or she will probably point out the things that we need to be doing. That is good, because it is the sign of a strong, confident leadership that we are willing to appoint people who will point out flaws in the system that will be difficult and potentially expensive to solve.

All in all, I massively welcome the concept of an Armed Forces Commissioner, and the Bill. There are some detailed questions to which we would love to know the answers, and I look forward to hearing those in due course.